Intake bell for diagonal fluid pumps



Sept. 6, 1966 J, M. ELLER ET AL 3,270,677

INTAKE BELL FOR DIAGONAL FLUID PUMPS Filed Sept. 29, 1965 IN VEN 'IURS JAMES MARLIN ELLER JAMES DAVID ELLER United States Patent 3,270,677 INTAKE BELL FOR DIAGONAL FLUID PUMPS James Marlin Eller, P.O. Drawer E, Deerfield Beach, Fla., and James David Eller, Deerfieltl Beach, Fla. (3535 NW. 3rd Ave., Boca Raton, Fla.)

Filed Sept. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 491,313 3 Claims. (Cl. 10389) This invention relates to an inlet bell for angle axial flow propeller pumps and has for its object an inlet bell fixed to the pump housing and with the bell having a circular inlet so that its entrance is parallel with respect to the Water surface into which the pump is engaged.

Pumps of this nature heretofore employ elbows for the intake and with the elbows having an inlet opening that is perpendicular with the water surface.

The elbow of this invention has an important bearing on the velocity distribution immediately ahead of the propeller and whereby to affect the propeller etiicieney and pump cavitation characteristics.

The intake bell of this invention is formed of a series of segments terminating at their upper end in a flange for coupling engagement with the pump housing and with the lower end being horizontal and downwardly disposed and with the marginal edge of the open end of the bell being substantially parallel with the surface of the water into which the pump has been engaged.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device will be more clearly apparent during the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein has been illustrated a pre ferred form of the device and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts througout the several figures.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an axial fiow propeller pump having the invention applied thereto,

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view showing the lower end of the pump housing and the inlet bell,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the lower end of the pump and the inlet bell, and

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the inlet bell.

Referring specifically to the drawings, there has been illustrated an angle axial flow propeller pump 5, flanged at its lower end as at 6, to receive a flange 7 of an inlet bell, indicated as a whole by the numeral 8. The pump is provided with an axial drive shaft 9 of conventional construction, carrying an impeller 10 adjacent its lower end.

Fixed to the lower end of the pump 5 by bolts 11, is the inlet hell 8 that is formed of a plurality of wedge-shaped segments 12, terminating in a circular inlet 13.

The pump 5 is disposed in a conventional manner in an area of the bank of a water-way and with the hell 8 being submerged in the water to a point adjacent to the bottom of the water way so that the outlet end 13 will be disposed parallel with the surface of the water 14. The pump 5 is connected to a discharge pipe 15 and the shaft 9 is journaled at the upper end of the pump in a bearing 16 and the shaft is connected by a drive pulley 17. To further prevent velocity distortion, vortex motion or whirlpools, the bell 8 is provided with vanes 18 and 19 that are fixed by welding or the like to the inner surface of the bell and with the vane 18 extending from the top of the bell, to a point in the bell and with the vane 19 being at a 90 degree angle with respect to the vane 18 and with 3,270,677 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 the vanes being cut away to clear a conical hub portion of the drive shaft 9 from which the several vanes radially extend. The pump 5, while being indicated as arranged at a -degree angle, may obviously be angled as the occasion may require to degrees of 30 and degrees and in such instances, the hell 8 will be formed of the segments 12 in the manner so that its opening or inlet 13 is always parallel with the surface of the water 14.

In the use of this type of pump assembly, the water is propelled upwardly through the bell 8 by the impeller 10 and the impeller functions to move the water in an even flow free of velocity distortion, vortex motion or whirlpools and is highly effective for moving a column of water from a canal or ditch in an even uninterrupted flow. The improved bell is cheap to manufacture, is strong, durable and most effective for use in connection with angle axial llow pumps.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, but that changes are contemplated as readily fall within the spirit of the invention as shall be determined by the scope of the subjoined claims.

We claim:

1. An angled axial flow pump having a propeller and provided with an singularly-arranged elongated cylindrical barrel, the pump having a lower intake and an upper horizontally disposed outlet end, an intake bell fixed to the lower end of the pump, the bell being downwardly tapering to a relatively Wide intake side, the lower end of the bell being disposed in substantially parallel relation to the surface of the water, the bell being formed of a plurality of progressively larger segments welded together, the intake end of the bell and the body of the bell being on a true circle whereby the water being pumped by the r propeller has an even velocity distribution immediately ahead of the propeller to form a uniform liquid flow to the pump.

2. The structure according to claim 1 wherein the bell is provided with fixed vanes extending from the upper end of the bell and with the vanes being at a right angle to each other.

3. An angled axial flow propeller pump according to claim 2, wherein the propeller of the pump is provided with a conical end portion extending into the bell, the vanes being disposed around said conical end portion and projecting radially therefrom to their points of attachment to the walls of the bell.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,345,655 7/1920 Wood 103-89 1,385,069 7/1921 Chapman 10393 2,214,677 9/ 1940 North 10389 2,552,681 5/1951 Lang 10387 2,907,277 10/1959 Lessly 10387 3,008,422 11/1961 Crisafulli 10387 FOREIGN PATENTS 935,158 l/l948 France. 1,039,020 5/ 1953 France.

470,305 1/ 1929 Germany. 1,055,963 4/1959 Germany.

F MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner. HENRY F. RADUAZO, Examiner. 

1. AN ANGLED AXIAL FLOW PUMP HAVING A PROPELLER AND PROVIDED WITH AN ANGULARLY-ARRANGED ELONGATED CYLINDRICAL BARREL, THE PUMP HAVING A LOWER INTAKE AND AN UPPER HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED OUTLET END, AN INTAKE BELL FIXED TO THE LOWER END OF THE PUMP, THE BELL BEING DOWNWARDLY TAPERING TO A RELATIVELY WIDE INTAKE SIDE, THE LOWER END OF THE BELL BEING DISPOSED IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATION TO THE SURFACE OF THE WATER, THE BELL BEING FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF PROGRESSIVELY LARGER SEGMENTS WELDED TOGETHER, THE INTAKE END OF THE BELL AND THE BODY OF THE BELL BEING ON A TRUE CIRCLE WHEREBY THE WATER BEING PUMPED BY THE PROPELLER HAS AN EVEN VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION IMMEDIATELY AHEAD OF THE PROPELLER TO FORM A UNIFORM LIQUID FLOW TO THE PUMP. 